Guruji : How many of you have body pains since early in the morning, raise your hand ?

(There was about 25% of the crowd raising their hands)

Guruji : You know why? We eat the crops that are cultivated by using chemical fertilizers. This causes a lot of diseases in our body. Do you understand? We don’t detoxify the body. To get good yield we use artificial chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Because of these fertilizers, soil turns toxic and he produce from the soil in turn becomes toxic and our body gets toxic substances as we eat them which cause disease and pain.

How many have hip, joint, back pains and different kinds of headaches. I don’t want you to tell me the number of head aches that you have at home!!! If we have to get rid of all these pains and diseases, we have to go back to our traditional method of farming. We have to do natural farming, Zero budget farming low-cost, more yield, better health. So we have to take this as a revolution to the farmers.

You know the white sugar is termed as white poison in western countries. As it overs the knobs of the intestine and stops the nutrients from being absorbed by the body. The children who consume a lot of sugar are mostly lean because of
lack of nutrition. If you stop giving them sugar, they will start getting healthier. We eat a lot of sugar and reduce our body growth as well. So instead if white sugar you should start consuming cane sugar which is in turn good for the body. It helps the liver as it has minerals. We have to know how to eat tell not how to eat more.

Similarly we need to learn breathing practices to keep our body healthy and earn meditation to get peace of mind and these things are very much essential for life. We should have knowledge and awareness on meditation, breathing
practices and food.

Now let us switch on to cane sugar. The only difference that you may notice is that gulab jamuns would look much darker and jalebis would be of a different color!!! It does not matter.

After 30 -32 years everyone should take 3 Triphala tablets at night. It sets right all the three doshas, vata, pitha and kapha in the body. . It eliminates toxins from the body. Even if there is a problem with the food, Triphala clears
the stomach and helps in good elimination the next morning. It also maximizes anti- oxidization in the body. All of you should take “Triphala” and you yan see the effect in your body within 5 to 7 days.

“Deva Vati” is a good cure for amebiosis and other diseases caused by change in food and water. It is harmless and everyone must carry with them wherever they go. It replaces antibiotics like Flagyl and others. Two to three “Deva Vati” can cure ever.

In India, what ever we prepare we add turmeric in it. You know why? Because of its anti-oxidant properties and it has medicinal value. In 1980, we called upon scientists for a conference in Delhi. When asked about the use of turmeric, they said it is just a color pigment without any value. Today, the foreigners may turmeric is an antioxidant and it can give immunization against Cancer and let we do not understand its real value.

In Tamilnadu we add turmeric in the pickles, especially the lemon pickles. Turmeric means Goddess Devi. She is
incarnation of lemon, turmeric, and neem. All the three plants are considered sacred in our country and they all give good energy to our body. If we grow lemon and tulsi in each and every house we can have good health in our country.

You know in our country there is a shortfall in the production of pulses. We are importing nearly 40% of the pulses and if this continues we will not have sufficient food In the future. So we have to plant pulses in our home garden and our women can do it.

My Grandmother was in Papanasam even at the age of 92 years she used to do things for herself and she had a good system of eating. Like, eating “Agathi Keerai” , on every “Dwadesi” day ( The day after ekadesi Fasting) and she used to take two kinds of vegetables . She had laid rules for herself and hence had a lot of energy. In the next generation the energy level came down and now in our generation it is getting lower.

One more interesting thing you know our “Idly” is considered to be the most nutritious food in the World. Because it contains carbohydrates, proteins, enzymes, fats, amino acids and fiber.Every one should consume ghee. Ghee helps the body to absorb nutrients. If I start talking on food I can go on for hours together. “Idly” is said to be the complete food it is a happy thing to know don’t you think so.

Our world is an energy field connected with thoughts. The thought which arises in us doesn’t get wasted; it goes round and round the world and comes back to us. In a small cell phone we press 4 to10 buttons and talk to people all over the world. Don’t we? Such a small instrument and just pressing those buttons it enables us to talk to people in America, England, Australia and everywhere else. I feel the trust that we have, over the cell phone; we do not have on our own mind. We trust the cell phones, and it is foolish not to trust the brain which created it! This brain has enormous energy in it. That which brings out this energy is spirituality. If there is no spirituality, there is no happiness in life; no love, no peace. So we need to have a deep involvement in spirituality. We think spirituality is going to temple, worship and come back. But it is not that. We break the coconut and that’s the end of our spirituality. Spirituality really is a deep feeling that is inside us. Our body is the wick and our heart is the light, which continues burning throughout. The wick has to be induced/kindled with ghee so as to make the light burn brighter and longer. This is what is called “Sadhana”.

When an outstanding person is created and when there is enough of strength in him Education becomes meaningful. Our lives should be like the coconut. Our involvement should be like the husk of the coconut. Our body should be like the coconut shell and our mind should be like the white kernel and our heart should be like the sweet coconut water.

You don’t need to worry to maintain knowledge. When knowledge is lodged in you as wisdom, it will never leave you.

Wisdom lodges itself in your heart. Make the Divine your Valentine (your sweet Beloved). This is the last thing to do and the first thing to do. Keep your heart in a safe place; it is too delicate. Events, small things make strong impressions on it. And you cannot find a better place than the Divine to keep your heart safe and your mind sane. When you keep your heart in the Divine, the moving time, the passing events, will not be able to touch it, will not create a scar. A precious stone needs a setting around it, gold or silver, to hold it and to wear it; so wisdom and knowledge are that setting around the heart which will hold it in the Divine.

See the Divine in your Valentine and make the Divinity your Valentine (your sweet beloved). Just BE. . .and know that you are LOVED… That is BELOVED.

Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar has described Maharishi Mahesh Yogi as a “great saint” whose contribution to the world would be remembered forever.”Maharishi was a great saint. He was highly skilled in managing world affairs and was equally dispassionate at the same time,” Guruji said, recalling the time he spent with Maharishi in his early days. “Maharshi laid the foundation for a new world based on the knowledge of Vedas and spirituality. There was none like him and none shall ever be again. He remains unparalleled,” Guruji added.

“Do not let politics sway you from the path. If you are afraid of politics you cannot be successful in the spiritual realm. You have to cross the barricade of politics. It is a test of your strength, your commitment and your focus. You cannot avoid politics, but you can choose whether to harbor the politics in your mind or let it go.

There was politics among the 12 apostles. There was politics among Buddha and his followers. Krishna was immersed in politics, and you say you do no want to involve in politics??

The more you do not want it the more you harbor it in your consciousness. When you recognize politics in any group it is a blessing for you to be centered and go inwards. You can do that without blaming the group, without running away from people, without giving up. It can enhance your skill to act and to not get attached. There are many advantages in becoming involved in politics. Politics amplifies the diversity in people. It comforts you with different view points, approaches and tendencies. Enhances your ability to communicate and act. It brings centeredness and dispassion. It shakes you up and makes you stand up to the knowledge. It enhances your capacity to accept and tolerate. It makes you realize that all of life is a game.Cross the threshold of politics and come to the divine. The strong will smile thru politics and weak will lament.“

Environment protection and mitigating the effects of global warming is on top of Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar’s agenda who believes that the only way to check climate change is to spread awareness about pollution.

“The only way to check environmental pollution is to spread awareness. Many people in this world live without the knowledge of climate and their surrounding environs. They are immune to changes in the cycle of seasons and its variations. They have to be told before taking any remedial measures to save the ecology, measures to prevent environmental degradation range from planting more trees to saving water and using chemical free fertilisers on the fields. However, before putting any safeguard mechanism in place, people need to know about climate and the way it is changing.”

Asked if it is possible to bring awareness about environment and the looming crisis by using ancient Indian texts and scriptures ?

Sri Sri said: Why not? Take the message to people through satsangs and religious discourses. It is easy for Indians to understand a concept or message conveyed through religion because they are spiritual beings by nature. They respond to the call of religion and greater good.

In the West, we have to go to the people through the media and talks. It is not just about the Indian philosophy, you have to give them the experiential feel to drive the message home”

Sri Sri is at the forefront of several social campaigns, including environmental protection, disaster and trauma relief and poverty alleviation. He is also engaged in peace negotiations in conflict zones around the world.

Pollution, explains Sri Sri, is not just physical. There is pollution of stress. People just sit in a place and think negative. It can bring anger, frustration and even frenzy and all those who are vulnerable can catch the anger in their minds. The mind just goes crazy. It sends out negative vibes that harm the ambience, including the environment.

One of the best ways to prevent polluting oneself and the surrounding environment is to remain joyful and stress free. It brings less greed, less conflicts and ensures more cooperation between people and environment,There is no absolute good or evil. It is tendentious. One can have proclivity to evil but cannot be completely evil. All human beings are intrinsically good. They resort to evil deeds because of extraneous pressure and circumstances. Evil is a distortion of nature and ultimately good will triumph. If every man is left the way he or she was born, there would have been no evil on this earth

Sri Sri added: “Modern society puts a lot of demand on our time and resources while spirituality gives enthusiasm and a sense of confidence to face the pressures modern society poses. The two together makes life pleasant, better and comfortable.”

Asked what message he would like to convey to the youth of today, Sri Sri said: “Lead a happy, stress-free and violence-free life.” And of course, listen to good music.

A great believer in the healing power of music, the guru said: “It is integral to my life and a part of everything in my Art of Living ashram.”

“My cows milk more if there is music and the chikoos (sapodillas) in my garden grow bigger because of the music played in my ashram. The healing power of music is a mystery, but I guess it sets the harmony and rhythm in nature,” the seer with childlike eyes laughed pointing to a basket of fruits plucked fresh from the orchard of his ashram in the outskirts of Bangalore.

Why a spiritual guru? He could have been anything. “Yes, I guess. But I never grew up. That’s the secret of my spiritualism,” said Sri Sri.